My cells devour all worlds.

Cangyuan County.

County government office.

"Report—"

A constable rushed over, his voice filled with panic, "Your Excellency, some villagers say they saw bandits from Black Wind Stronghold descending the mountain, heading north..."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Yu immediately stood up and hurriedly gave the following instructions:

"Quickly go and invite County Lieutenant Yu over."

The yamen runners agreed and left.

Not long after.

Upon learning the news, County Lieutenant Yu Yue rushed to the county government office.

Yu Si had no interest in the documents on the table; his mind was filled with thoughts of the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold.

He walked on, stopping frequently, and only stopped when he saw Yu Yue approaching. "Does Magistrate Yu know anything about Black Wind Stronghold?"

Yu Yue nodded. "This subordinate has already received the news."

"Then why haven't you sent anyone to take action yet?" Yu Si frowned, clearly displeased.

Yu Yue gave a wry smile and explained, "Your Excellency may not know this, but the war in the northern border has been raging for a long time, so there are no troops stationed in Cangyuan County."

"Although the Black Wind Stronghold doesn't have many people, it has a lot of horses, and each of them is fierce. Their speed and combat power are unmatched by ordinary people."

"With only a few dozen yamen runners and some local militia, we are no match for them. Moreover, at their speed, by the time I lead the men there, they will have already returned to Black Wind Stronghold."

"Moreover, with a large number of people leaving the city, the city's defenses are weak..."

Yu Yue did not continue speaking.

"Should we just leave it like this?"

Yu Si frowned deeply. He had only been transferred to Cangyuan County for a short time and was indeed not very familiar with the situation here.

They never expected the county's defenses to be so weak, that even bandits could outmaneuver them.

"We are willing but unable. Unless the higher-ups are willing to send troops to support us, our county's strength is absolutely insufficient to confront them head-on. Defending the city is already difficult enough."

Yu Yue then changed the subject, "However, Your Excellency need not worry too much. In my experience, those bandits are afraid of being held accountable later, so at most they will only plunder some grain and dare not harm people indiscriminately."

"We just need to send people to comfort them and provide some assistance to help the villagers get through the winter."

"That's all we can do."

Yu Si sighed, his brows relaxed slightly, and decided to write a letter to the county town requesting assistance.

If we can get reinforcements, that would be best; if not, we can only do as Yu Yue suggested.

The letter requesting help was only half-written when the same yamen runner reappeared at the door, his voice ridiculously loud.

"Report—"

Yu Si's hand trembled, and a large stroke of the pen on the letter was instantly slanted.

A vein throbbed on his forehead. He took two deep breaths. "What's so important that you're making such a fuss?"

The constable's face was flushed, and he was panting heavily from running so fast.

He took a breath and said, "Outside... there are several villagers from Shikou Village requesting an audience."

The villagers are requesting an audience?

Yu Si thought the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold had arrived.

Why bother him with such a small matter?

Yu Si was about to reprimand them, but then he thought that since he had just arrived, it would be good to leave a good impression on everyone.

So he calmed down and asked, "What do they want?"

The constable's voice trembled, his words laced with the shock of what he had just witnessed, "They...they brought more than a dozen bandits from Black Wind Stronghold!"

"What?!"

Yu Si wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

Several villagers brought more than a dozen bandits with them?

What a ridiculous joke!

But the constable repeated it again, forcing him to confirm that he hadn't misheard.

Yu Si threw down his pen, ignoring the ink-stained letter, and said urgently, "Quickly, quickly take me to see him..."

Crowds thronged the streets outside the county government office.

One by one, people craned their necks and looked curiously into the middle of the street, where there were several carriages that were clearly just put together.

Dozens of menacing-looking people were tied to the carriage.

The last truck was even more horrific, filled with severed limbs and corpses that had already died.

Those with knowledge recognized them based on their clothing and the appearance of some of them: "Could the people tied up on the carriage be the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold? I've seen that scarred-faced guy before."

"It seems to be the second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold, exactly the same as the wanted poster."

"Is this internal strife?"

"What infighting? Didn't you hear the old man say they were villagers from Shikou Village? I think the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold just got caught off guard."

"Wow, Shikou Village is really something else, those guys at the county government..."

The man who was speaking glanced at the constables maintaining order beside him and didn't dare to continue.

Upon learning that the people tied up in the carriage were bandits, the onlookers immediately clapped and cheered. Those who had been bullied by bandits in the past even picked up mud and pebbles and threw them at the bandits.

The bandits were all tightly bound with hemp rope, and their mouths were gagged.

All they could do was whine and moan.

Lin Feng and his group at the front didn't care at all; they deserved it.

At that moment, a voice announced, "The county magistrate has arrived!"

Yu Si led his men out of the county government office and came to Lin Feng and the others.

Lin Feng and Lin Shi, along with several escorts, quickly bowed and said, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."

Yu Si nodded slightly and looked at Lin Feng, who was leading the group. "You're the village chief of Shikou Village?"

Lin Feng quickly responded that he was right.

As they spoke, Yu Si couldn't help but glance at the carriage behind them.

Although I had already learned about the situation, I was still quite shocked to see it with my own eyes.

A constable had already stepped forward with the arrest warrant to verify the identity and confirm the authenticity of the matter.

"Your Excellency, they are indeed bandits from Black Wind Stronghold, including both of their leaders, but Niu You is already dead."

Yu Si hummed in agreement, suppressing his excitement, and asked curiously, "How did you manage to do that?"

The dozen or so vicious bandits were no match for even County Magistrate Yu, so how could they be taken down by a few untrained villagers?

He simply couldn't understand it, and even suspected that the thieves were fighting amongst themselves and had come disguised as villagers.

Lin Feng and the others dared not hide anything and quickly revealed that Lu Sheng might be the Xuanling Divine Lord, and also recounted how Lu Sheng defeated the bandits.

The language is just as fantastical as the content of a storybook.

The crowd that heard this was dumbfounded.

Yu Si's expression shifted uncertainly. He certainly didn't believe it, but now there were witnesses and physical evidence.

After pondering for a moment, Yu Si had no choice but to invite Lin Feng and the others into the yamen first, intending to learn more about the matter.

They sent a coroner to examine the body and ordered the warden to take the others away for questioning.

The jailer ripped the gag from the bandits' mouths on the execution rack. "Tell me quickly, how were you captured by the people of Shikou Village? Tell the truth."

Upon hearing this, the bandit recalled what had happened before, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes. "A monster, it's a monster..."

He recounted in a trembling voice how Lu Sheng had thrown cattle at them.

But the jailer couldn't stand it anymore halfway through. His eyebrows furrowed, "Nonsense! You dare not tell the truth after coming in here? You're asking for a beating!"

As he spoke, he lashed out with the whip.

"Ah... sir, what I said is true... ah..."

"Fine, you still dare to mock me? You've got a tough tongue. I haven't seen someone like you in a long time. Guards, torture him..."

"Ahhhhh—"